The Visit: Part One -- Noah

The longest time of the year for us seems to be from Christmas until the summer-- we don't make any visits to Ohio and New York during that time. While the break from travel is wonderful, we truly miss everyone from home. Last year, I asked Tif to come and visit and bring Noah, so she did. This year, we decided to revive the tradition. Tif and Noah just spent the past weekend with us.

Many facets of our visit were important to me. One of which was seeing my precious nephew Noah. It is amazing for me to watch the drastic changes that take place physically and mentally between visits when he is so young.

I learned a few things from this visit:

1. Noah needs to know where his mommy is at all times. Noah's common phrase: I fine momma. (I find mom) was repeated anytime she was out of sight. This was quickly followed with "Momma, MomMA, MOMMA!" as he searched the house.

2. Noah delighted in being like the big boys. On the first night, he played with all the big boy toys outside, riding "Noah's bike," "Noah's scooter," and playing with the golf "cub." He approaches life like his mom-- with gusto! He never hesitated to jump in with both feet and have a good time.

3. Noah learns quickly. It took him a matter of minutes after seeing his first light sabre to realize how truly cool the toy was. Andrew took him into the dark bathroom to show him how they glowed in the dark. After that, Noah would pull his mom's hand and say, "Light sabre momma, Go in the dark." Then, he would drag her to the bathroom to marvel at the glowing equipment.

4. Noah is tough. I watched him take more tumbles and spills trying to keep up with my boys, and he rarely made a cry. The only time he cried about an "ow" was when he ran into the upper deck and created a sizeable bruise on his cheek. Even then, we adults were much more concerned than he. He wanted to run, while we were trying to put an ice pack on it to ease the swelling.

I truly loved having him here for the weekend. He reminded me of both the fun and the work of a two year old. He lives life fully and never looks back, but he also needs his mom to make him whole. He brought so much fun and vitality to the house. He still has that smile that lights up a room -- and he knows it! He is an amazing guy.